1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper roll holding or supporting apparatus for being installed in an image forming apparatus having a paper conveying mechanism such as printer, copying machine, facsimile device, etc.
2. Discussion of the Background
Hitherto, when the paper roll is set to the image forming apparatus, the so-called spool type member has been widely used. In this manner, since the paper roll can be supported along the entire width thereof and further the spool can be directly positioned on the side plate of the apparatus main body, an unintentional shaft movement of the paper roll rarely occurs and the ease of conveying the paper roll may be improved.
However, in the large-size copying machine, in particular, a machine capable of handling the copying operation for the AO-size paper, the spool length inevitably turns out to be 1 m and as a result a difficulty in handling the paper roll at the time of setting or removing the paper roll occurs. Therefore, such spool type member is not preferable for a large-size copying machine.
On the other hand, for instance, the published specifications of Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 64-43048 and Japanese Published Utility Model Publication No. 7-48598, etc. propose a method of tightly fitting the flange on both sides of the paper roll putting it on the roller-state body. In this manner, since the structure of the roller pair having a flange put thereon is adopted in the apparatus, the flange inevitably turns out to be large-sized. As the result, it is difficult to set the paper roll therein. Namely, the setting of the paper roll to the main body of the apparatus turns out to be difficult because of the large size of the flange and the obstruction caused by the roller.
The above are the troublesome matters to be solved. Furthermore, since the roller is employed, the structure may become rigid and strong. Nevertheless, the position of the rollers has to be readjusted for each of the respective apparatuses, and, excluding the flange, the setting has to be newly made. As the result, performing such adjustments may be troublesome. Such problems have to be also solved. Furthermore, against the requirement of reducing the cost in the recent years, a high-cost roller is used in the apparatus, a drawback which needs to be overcome.
Heretofore, the background regarding the paper roll supporting apparatus have been described. However, according to such background arts, for instance, disclosed in the background-art documents, e.g., Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 64-43048 and Japanese Published Utility Model Publication No. 7-48598, etc., there exists no advantageous functional effect for improving the paper roll supporting apparatus.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-discussed and other problems and solves the above-mentioned defects and troublesome matters of the background art.
In greater detail, a preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a paper roll supporting apparatus in which circular cylindrical flange members are tightly fitted to the both ends of the paper roll and the outer circumferential surface of the respective flange members are pivotally supported by rotatable bodies. The respective rotatable bodies for pivotally supporting the respective flange members comprise at least two rollers which are arranged around the flange members, the axis of which are made parallel with each other. The rollers are provided so as to be rotatably mounted respectively on receiving stands capable of changing the position thereof in coincidence with the width of the paper roll.
The present invention improves the flange in consideration of the defects of the aforementioned background arts and thereby simplifies the structure of the flange. In this manner, the cost thereof can be reduced. In addition, the ease of properly setting the paper roll can be improved considerably.